Tonight we went to the home of one of our pastors in El Porvenir. It was their daughter's 15th birthday. Here the 15th birthday is similar to the importance of the 16th birthday in the States. It was a great experience. She was dressed in a formal pink dress. The area beside their house was decorated with pink balloons and they had a wooden swing in the middle of the festivities decorated with pink flowers. Gabriela sat in the swing and her father swung her back and forth 15 times while the crowd all counted out loud with each swing. Then they served a full meal (chicken, potatoes with melted cheese, and rolls) while the music played over the loud speaker. Finally Gabriela cut the cake and we all were forced to sample some.
But, the big surprise for us - actually for Cindy - came when the father of Gabriela (Julio) asked Cindy if she would say the "bendeciones" over Gabriela. You've got to understand, Cindy HATES to speak in public when she is speaking in English. Now, not only did she have to do it in Spanish but, she had no time to prepare and neither one of us was sure just exactly what did Julio mean by "Bendeciones". Brad tried to ask him for a little more clarification but it didn't help Cindy at all. Does "Bendeciones" mean a few words, a short sermon, or simply to pray. Cindy knew this was such a special night and she didn't want disappoint them, but she wasn't sure what she was suppose to do. Her time came. She said a few things. And then prayed. All in Spanish in front of probably 40 - 50 people. She did great.
Miguel (one of the house parents at Faith Home) drove the van and brought some of the kids and adults from Faith Home. When the van arrived (it seats 13) we counted at least 22 people who got out of the van. Man, can fit a lot of people into a vehicle.
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